


Compete Against the Stars

by APairOfWeirdos



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:09:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24027160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APairOfWeirdos/pseuds/APairOfWeirdos
Summary: England ➝ Mid 1920s;The Pendragon family, one of the most prestigious families of the English upper class, host their annual summer-long party.  Much to the annoyance of Arthur, Morgana invites the controversial and mysterious inheritor of the Emrys fortune to spend the summer with them.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merthur
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	Compete Against the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, thought I'd be productive during these scary times and write a ff that I've had in my head for the last 5 years. I haven't done any serious writing in a long time, and I don't have a beta to check over any errors so please be kind, I'm shit at writing I know. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy and I'll hopefully post another chapter soon!

Chapter 1  
Introductions

Arthur woke to morning birdsong and the heavy smell of blossoming flowers drifting in through the open window. It had been a stiflingly hot night which had promised a brilliant morning, a perfect summer day for the start of June. He pushed himself upright, and pulled the cord at his bedside. Deep in Camelot Hall his valet was alerted by a ringing bell, within 20 minutes Arthur was dressed. 

He made his way downstairs, enjoying the early morning lull, where the only noise was the bustling of the servants preparing the rooms for the day. It would be the last time the house would be so quiet for the next three months as the start of June meant the beginning of Morgana’s summer parties. From now until the end of the season, if the summer was a pleasant one, there would be a constant stream of people visiting Camelot Hall, time for each Pendragon family member to play the perfect host. It had been the same every year since Morgana became a debutante 3 years previously; the summer parties were evidently becoming somewhat of a Pendragon tradition.   
Arthur joined Morgana and his father, Uther, in the breakfast room. Uther was preoccupied, the morning papers had been combed through and he had begun to open his letters which had just been delivered. Morgana’s head rested on one hand while she pushed her food anxiously around her plate with the other. She looked up as he sat down at the table. 

‘Arthur.’ She greeted him, putting down her fork and smiling mischievously at him.

‘Morgana,’ he replied, returning the smile with narrowed eyes. ‘You’re up early for once. It’s not often you make your appearance at breakfast.’

‘I couldn’t sleep any longer, I’ve got far too much to prepare for today.’ She drummed her fingers on the table, clearly anxious to get started.

‘I wasn’t aware you did all that much, Morgana, I thought Guinevere and the other servants did all your dirty work.’

‘Well, somebody has to command the troops.’

Arthur smiled and shook his head in response, helping himself to some toast that was laid out on the table.

‘Actually, I’ve been waiting for you, Arthur. I have a little announcement to make.’ She paused, her eyes glancing quickly at Uther. He seemed not to have noticed that she’d even started speaking. Typical. 

‘I invited someone to join us today. For summer.’ Morgana had never announced who she was inviting before. Perhaps Arthur had taken it for granted that the people she usually invited had been people they’d entertained all their lives mixed with the people Uther Pendragon deemed as ‘worth knowing’. Morgana’s little announcement likely meant this person was going to be highly controversial.

‘Who?’ Uther asked, his eyes not leaving his current letter.

‘Merlin Emrys,’ she replied, smiling slightly, her eyes were now trained on Uther’s face, looking for any hint of a reaction. Uther threw his letter down, glaring disapprovingly at her.  
‘You did not.’ He could almost see the mischievous glint in Morgana’s eye, her lips twitched, she was trying really hard to suppress a smile.  
‘I did and he’s arriving today, actually.’ Arthur recognised the last name Emrys, it belonged to an old rival of Uther’s who had died recently, but he had never heard of this Merlin before. He was positive he’d never heard of Balinor having a son.

‘Morgana,’ Uther growled disapprovingly. ‘Absolutely not. I refuse to allow him in this house.’ 

‘I’ll let you refuse him when he gets here then.’ She knew Uther wouldn’t refuse a guest, that would create more of a scandal than whatever _he_ may risk by being invited into the house. Uther rose angrily from the table leaving Morgana and Arthur staring after him. She’d got the reaction she’d been after.

‘I didn’t know Balinor had a son,’ Arthur said, turning back to Morgana, his breakfast and letters lay forgotten before him. She smirked and leaned toward him, pleased with the gossip she was about to impart.

‘Not a lot of people did, until he decided to leave his entire estate to him when he died. Of course questions were asked when some unknown farmer’s hand was given the entire Emrys fortune. Apart from that people don’t really know anything about him, he could be anyone really.’ It got worse. Not only was his family frowned upon by Uther, he was a farmer and almost certainly a bastard.

‘Christ, Morgana. So this Merlin… he’s a farmer?’ 

‘Not anymore, he’s not. Not when he owns the entire Emrys fortune. He moved into Albion House two weeks ago.’ She was so pleased with herself, he could see it in the way she fidgeted. Arthur realised that his earlier feelings had been incorrect, she wasn’t anxious, she was excited. She couldn’t wait for this Merlin to arrive. He was used to her doing things like this, things that provoked Uther, she loved testing his patience, seeing how far she could go. But this was grander than anything he could have imagined and a definite way for her to get a reaction. Arthur groaned inwardly, this had definitely crossed a line. 

‘Morgana, what will people say?’ 

‘I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out.’ She flashed him a grin again, folding her napkin and placing it carefully on the table. ‘I’m sure this summer will be the best one we’ve had yet, don’t you worry, Arthur.’ She excused herself from the table, letting Arthur finish his breakfast in the only remaining comfortable silence he expected to have left. 

The first guests to arrive were Arthur’s friends, Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot and Percival; they'd trickled in one by one throughout the morning. They were sons of lower lords, people Arthur had grown up with all his life and were regular visitors at the Hall, they’d probably stay all summer. Most people spent a few days to a week here and there at the Hall during the summer season, even if they were busy or had a trip planned. To not even make an appearance at the Pendragon’s party could give rise to the suspicion that you hadn’t been invited in the first place, and there was nothing that could be more socially damaging than that. But Arthur and Morgana’s closest friends typically chose to spend most of the season at the Hall - something Arthur encouraged. They were his respite, and he was glad to know he could go from talking with Lord de Bois about the latest ideas surrounding crop rotation on his estate and the rise and fall of grain prices and turn around to find Gwaine rolling his eyes and fake snoring. He needed them if he was going to survive the summer and not be bored to death. 

Arthur had promised himself to think no more of Morgana’s breakfast announcement, it wasn’t his problem after all, and there was no guarantee that _he_ would show up anyway. He managed to push the matter out of his mind with the arrival of his friends.

They spent the morning playing various lawn games and, as the day got steadily hotter, they decided to break in the early afternoon for a drink and something to eat.

‘God, it’s so bloody hot!’ Gwaine exclaimed, throwing himself down on the grass beside Arthur. After a few minutes of complaining he propped himself up on his elbow and turned toward Arthur with a mischievous smile.

‘So when’s this Merlin fellow making his grand appearance?’ Arthur groaned, of course it would be Gwaine who brought it up.

‘Hopefully never if he knows what’s good for him, we don’t need that sort of attention.’ 

‘What Merlin fellow?’ Lancelot asked, looking from Arthur to Gwaine.

‘No one, it doesn’t matter,’ Arthur said, getting up to get a drink of water. 

‘Is this Balinor’s mysterious secret son Morgana was telling me about earlier?’ Percival chimed in as he polished off the last sandwich on his plate. ‘She told me he was coming today. He seems to be a bit of a mystery, no one seems to know an awful lot about him.’ 

‘And that’s how it’ll stay. He’s not coming anyway, it’s far too late to expect him now.’

‘Give over, Arthur, it’ll all be a bit of fun. It’ll give poor old Uther a bit of terror and then he’ll be forgotten about come autumn, if he even lasts that long.’ Gwaine smiled, hitting Arthur playfully on the shoulder. ‘Don’t worry about it, Pendragon. He’s not even your guest, he’s Morgana’s. She’ll probably keep him all to herself.’

* * *

Merlin lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sun that glared down as he stepped out of the car. He squinted up at the building that stood in front of him. It was magnificent, more of a royal palace than a country house. He shifted uncomfortably in the heat, nervous about meeting the residents of Camelot Hall. He felt out of place immediately, suddenly very aware of how stiflingly hot his clothes seemed in the late afternoon sun. They were too foreign, too tight and too stiff, he felt constricted and closed in, close to panic. It was not the scratchy old flannel he was used to on days such as this, he was certain they’d call him out for being an impostor immediately. He pulled at his collar that seemed to tighten with every breath. 

‘Merlin!’ Morgana Pendragon emerged from shadows of the columned entrance. She was a strikingly beautiful woman, her short dark hair contrasting with her pale skin and her red lips. She was immaculately dressed in the latest fashion, not a hair or thread was out of place.

‘It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person.’ She kissed him energetically on both cheeks before grabbing his hand and rushing him through the front door. 

‘Thank you for inviting me, Milady.’ 

‘Please, call me Morgana. We’re all friends here.’ She smiled at him, which calmed his nerves slightly, she didn’t seem nearly as intimidating as he thought she would. He could only hope the others were the same. Looking around him as they walked, and Morgana chattered on, he tried to catch a snippet of what Camelot Hall held in store for him for the next few weeks. The entire scene was so foreign to him, despite having moved into Albion House a few weeks ago, he was still used to small, smokey, dark rooms rather than grandiose country estates. The interior to this house was just as grand as the outside, art of every kind adorned the walls, marble statues stood guard in almost every corner, great windows bathed the generous rooms with afternoon sun. 

‘We’re all out back in the garden, it’s awfully nice weather. It seemed such a shame to be cooped up in here, you’ve got to take full advantage of the sun when you can.’ Merlin didn’t think you could ever be cooped up in a building that was as large and airy as this one. He pulled his attention away from the rooms and prepared himself. 

‘If you don’t mind me asking, who am I going to be meeting?’

‘Not at all, Merlin, it’s always good to be prepared. At the moment it’s just some old friends who have arrived. There’s Arthur, my brother, Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival and Leon. They’re mainly Arthur’s friends, we’ve known them practically since birth. Elena and Freya are also here, and I’m expecting Sophia any day. I’ll introduce you to the boys first, Elena and Freya have just arrived so they’re getting refreshed.’ Merlin pulled at his collar again, the names meant nothing to him, but at least the crowd didn’t seem too gargantuan. Morgana must have sensed his anxiety, she laid a hand delicately on his arm and smiled up at him.

‘You’ll be fine.’

They were playing tennis when Morgana and Merlin entered the garden. White cotton shirts rolled up to the elbow, laughter sprinkling the warm summer air.  
Morgana strode into the sunlight, no hesitation, no time for Merlin to shrink into the shadows and remain unnoticed. 

‘Everyone, this is Merlin Emrys,’ she announced.

He quickly surveyed the group on the lawn, they looked friendly enough as they stopped their game mid-match and turned to greet him, making their way across the lawn to introduce themselves. He smiled back at them, there was no chance for him to turn back now.

He stood, sun bouncing off his golden hair, the only one not to have moved; his attention focused on rolling up his sleeves. He eventually turned, eyes following his tennis partner who had gone to introduce himself to Merlin. He remained where he was, apparently uninterested in the newcomer. Merlin tore his eyes away, instead choosing to focus on those who were making an effort to be cordial. As it turned out the rest of them were just as welcoming as Morgana, they all stuck their hands out for shaking and clapped him on the back, inviting him to join their game of tennis.

‘He can replace me.’ The blonde man said. His stared at Merlin with obvious disapproval, his brows furrowed. ‘I need to speak to Morgana anyway.’ He dropped his racket on the ground and walked toward the house, gesturing for Morgana to follow him. 

‘Please excuse me,’ she smiled at Merlin, ‘I won’t be a moment,’ she said before turning to follow him inside. Merlin frowned.

‘Don’t worry about Arthur,’ Lancelot said, handing Merlin a racket, ‘Morgana likes to press his buttons.’

‘That and he’s far too up himself for his own good,’ Gwaine interjected, laughing, ‘come on, Merlin, get that jacket off and we’ll see what you’re made of. Lancelot can show you how it’s done.’ 

Merlin had never played tennis before and, as it turned out, he didn’t have a natural talent for it. They all assured him he’d have plenty of time to practice in the next few weeks. His nerves were calmed, for now, but the sudden absence of both Pendragon siblings didn’t sit well with him.


End file.
